Dear Editor:

On Oct. 22, 1935, a fifth-grader in Minersville, Pa., refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That was 90 years ago this week. The youngster’s name was William Gobitis, and he was a Jehovah’s Witness. Recitation of the pledge runs counter to biblical commands against idolatry, according to the Witnesses. This being America, the dispute wound up in court.

In 1940, the Supreme Court backed the Minersville School Board, and the Gobitis family had to pull their children out of school. Following this decision, according to the U.S. Justice Department, there were more than 300 attacks directed at roughly 1,500 Witnesses, often with the tacit approval, if not active participation, of law enforcement. The state of West Virginia went so far as to threaten parents with jail time i

See Full Page